Veteran batter Rohit Sharma on Friday was happy to make an important contribution to Mumbai Indians’ win over Gujarat Titans in a must-win IPL Eliminator match, but he also wished he had a few fifties to his credit compared to the four he has had so far as well. However, Rohit scored 81 off 50 balls to guide MI to 228 for five, registering a 20-run win over GT, and to set up a Qualifier 2 clash with Punjab Kings on June 1 at Ahmedabad.

“I’ve got only four fifties (this IPL season). I think I would have liked to get more. I do understand the importance of playing the Eliminator and it was a complete team performance,” said Rohit Sharma during the post-match presentation.

“It’s trying to understand how I can play my best. Today, after having the luck going my way, I knew I had to make the most of it. I’m glad I could do that, and get the team into a good position. We knew it would be slightly challenging with the dew coming in. I’ve played all those shots in the game before, and unfortunately, I found fielders. I got lucky as those catches got dropped. I’ve watched Bairstow over the years from the other side. We know what he can do upfront with the bat. He took his chances, and it came off. We always look for that kind of start,” said Rohit.

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MI captain Hardik Pandya applauded Rohit Sharma and Jonny Bairstow for giving his team a flying start. Hardik also said having the services of Jasprit Bumrah is a luxury for him at any stage of the game.

“The way Jonny started, for him to make his debut for us and the way Rohit batted. He took his time. When you see important games, all these margins help. Whenever you feel the game is going far away, just get him. It’s like Mumbai housing prices – he’s that expensive! I just need to throw the ball. I just thought if we can keep some extra runs at the end. It was important Jassi comes and bowls that over, and the margin becomes bigger. It’s going to be very important to recover well (ahead of Qualifier 2),” he further added.

A disappointed Gujarat Titans’ captain, Shubman Gill, said that the last few overs did not go as per plan as MI’s Pandya made a quick-fire 22 off 9 balls as well. Gill also said that the dropped catches in MI innings played a key role in his team’s defeat.

“The last three or four overs didn’t go our way, but still a very good game of cricket. Its’ not easy when we drop three sitters, especially in the power play. It was not easy for the bowlers to control,” said Gill. “The message was simple: just play the game you want to play. The goal was the same for both [Sai Sudharsan and Washington],” said Shubman Gill. “But lot of positives for us. Last two or three games didn’t go our way, but credit to all the players – especially Sai, and he was terrific. I think 210 was par score on this pitch,”